Support



H. O. RUGH Nov 8,, 1949 SUPPORT Filed Dec. 7, 1945 Patented Nov. 8, 1949UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SUPPORT Application December 7, 1945, SerialNo. 633,483

3 Claims.

My invention relates to supports, and includes among its objects andadvantages obtaining extreme simplification and manipulation and use ina stand or holder for rotatably supporting a reel carrying a heavyweight of material wound thereon, which material may be in the nature ofinsulated electrical cord.

The manufacture of electrical apparatus usually involves the cutting offand conditioning of predetermined lengths of electrical conductor from areel on which a relatively large amount of such conductor has been woundup for storage. Such reels are quite heavy and may often weigh from 50up to 200 or 300 pounds. And the cutting and conditioning oftheindividual lengths is frequently done by girls who do not have thephysical strength to handle such heavy weights conveniently.

One specific advantage of the device according to the invention is thatits use involves a minimum of physical efiort, together with a minimumof displacement of the parts with respect to a supporting floor,combined with extreme simplicity in use. Another specific advantage isto minimize wear especially on the reel structure.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a device according to the invention with areel in place on it;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail as in section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration, the basemay be a simple board. The standards l2 extend up to support the socketsl4. They may also extend along the board and be combined with a crosspartition IE to define an open box-like structure which houses thedownwardly moving portion of the reel and uard against accidents due toobjects or portions of an operators clothing getting caught when thereel is rotated.

I have illustrated a conventional reel comprising duplicate end platesl8 united into a fairly rigid assembly by four tubes 20 around which thestored material 22 may be wound up to the capacity of the reel. In thedrawings the reel is illustrated as somewhat more than half empty with areach 24 extending away from the reel and constituting the portion beingwithdrawn from the reel.

Each end plate is provided with a central circular aperture 26. Toprepare the reel for mounting on the support the pintle 28 is insertedthrough the openings 26 after one of the end cones 30 has been removedfrom the pintle to permit convenient insertion. Then the cone isreplaced so that the parts occupy the relative positions indicatedinFig. 2 and fastened on the pintle as by means of the set screw 32.Both cones are longitudinally slidable on the pintle 28 and providedwith set screws 32 so that reels of a wide range of sizes up to andincluding the capacity of the support may be mounted midway between theends of the pintle with the cones in good engagement with the end platesof the reel.

Each of the sockets M includes a face plate 34 fastened to the standardi2 as by wood screws 36, and a hook 38' extending outwardly and upwardlyto define a semi-circular outwardly opening socket of such a diameter asto receive the pintle 28 with a little radial clearance so that thepintle turns easily in the socket. Thus the good frictional engagementbetween the cones and the end plates renders it certain that the pintleand cones will rotate with the reel and that sliding contact will bebetween the pintle and the socket where friction is small and where theparts are designed to turn under the load without excessive wear, suchas would be likely to injure the end plates if the pintle did not rotatewith the reel.

Upon reference to Fig. 1 it will be observed that the center of gravityof the rotating parts is just a little to the right of the heel 40 atthe left end of the base l0. v

To bring the parts to the position of Fig. 1 with the reel ready tofunction as a convenient source of supply, it is only necessary to tiltthe base In in a counter clockwise direction about 30 around the heel40. This swings the sockets M to the left and downwardly until they area little closer to the floor than the pintle is When the edges of theend plates l8 are supporting the reel on the floor. With the support inthis position the reel can be rolled along the floor without lifting ituntil the ends of the pintle pass over the toes of the hooks 38 andstrike the face plates 34. Then the operator can conveniently put onefoot on the treadle 42 formed by the end of the base In projectingbeyond the partition l6 and by stepping on itmove the parts to theposition of Fig. 1. It will be apparent that an operator, proceeding asabove outlined can, without material effort, lift a reel from the floorinto the position of Fig. 1 up to a weight amounting to about twice theweight of the operator. Furthermore, the support itself can bepositioned before the reel is put in place in the exact position wherethe operator wants to have it after the reel is in place, and nodisplacement of the support from its predetermined position is involvedin tipping it up to receive the reel and back again into the position ofFig. 1.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully explain myinvention that others may readily adapt the same for use under variousconditions of service.

I claim:

1. A reel support comprising in combination: a flat rectangular panelbase; approximately square side panels about half as long as said base;said side panels being permanently assembled on said base along oppositeside edges of said base, and both close to the same rear end of saidbase, whereby about half said base projects forward beyond said sidepanels to form a treadle; up-

wardly opening U-shaped receiving hooks at the upper rear corners ofsaid side panels; said hooks being transversely aligned and adapted toreceive a reel pintle; and a vertical cross panel connecting at leastthe upper portions of the front vertical edges of said side panels todefine with them a box-like structure open at the top and rear; saidhook-s lying at an angle inclined not more than about five degrees tothe vertical, with respect to the rear edge of said panel; wherebyloading a reel of the size for which said support is designed may beachieved by merely lifting said treadle to tilt the entire support notmore than about thirty degrees around the rear edge of said panel as afulcrum; entering said hooks under the pintle of a reel resting on thesame level'as said support; and then stepping on said treadle to push itback down.

2. A reel support comprising in combination: a flat panel base;approximately square side panels about half as long as said base; saidside panels being permanently assembled on said base along opposite sideedges of said base and both close to the same rear end of said base;whereby almost half said base projects forward beyond said side panelsto form a treadle; upwardly opening U-shaped receiving hooks at theupper rear corners of said side panels; said hooks being transverselyaligned and adapted to receive a reel pintle; said hooks lying at anangle of not more than about five degrees to the vertical, with respectto the rear edge of said panel; whereby loading a reel of the size forwhich said support is designed may be achieved by merely lifting saidtreadle to tilt the entire support not more than about thirty degreesaround the rear edge of said panel as a fulcrum; entering said hooksunder the pintle of a reel resting on the same level as said support;and then stepping on said treadle to push it back down.

3. A reel support comprising in combination: a flat panel base; sidepanels about half as long and half as high as the length of said base;said side panels being permanently assembled on said base along oppositeside edges of said base and both close to the same rear end of saidbase; whereby almost half of said base projects forward beyond said sidepanels to form a treadle; upwardly opening U-shaped receiving hooks onsaid side panels; said hooks being transversely aligned and adapted toreceive a reel pintle; and a vertical cross panel connecting at leastthe upper portions of the front vertical edges of said side panels todefine with them a box-like structure open at the top and rear; wherebyloading a reel may be achieved by merely lifting said treadle to tiltthe entire support around the rear edge of said panel as a fulcrum;entering said hooks under the pintle of a reel; and then stepping onsaid treadle to push it back down; said receiving hooks being offsetfrom above said fulcrum toward the treadle end of said base not morethan about five degrees.

HARRY O. RUGH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 970,884 Carter Sept, 20, 19101,036,644 Kilmer et a1 Aug. 27, 1912 1,265,292 Besse May 7, 19181,470,946 Thornton Oct. 16, 1923 1,984,738 Gleason Dec. 18, 19342,155,769 Porter Apr. 25, 1939 2,266,446 Sluyter Dec. 16, 1941 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 268,137 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1927 494,914Great Britain Nov. 3, 1938

